How to save a Christmas
by yiangillium
Summary: Short christmas oneshot, written for a friend. AU. Elizaveta loves Christmas, but she hates spending it with her family. Little does she know a special someone is coming to save her from the dreadful evening.


So, I was converted.

I have been shown the light and there is no going back now. Everything is PruHun and nothing hurts. actuallyeverythinghurtsbutnevermindthat  
>This was my Christmas gift for my lovely friend Manouk, who was one of the persons who made me ship it, haha!<br>I might have gotten a thing for writing PruHun fics now ahahahaha ;; they are just so easy to write like their personalities match so well and it just flows and ahhhh- i'minlove  
>Okay, enough rambling! Onwards with the fic!<p>

* * *

><p>Elizaveta loved Christmas. The lights everywhere and the happy people and the kids choir singing at the marketplace and the gifts. She loved seeing her friends the days after and have snowball fights and sit by the open fire with a cup of hot chocolate and talk until they fell asleep. Christmas time was a happy time.<p>

Except for Christmas day itself, that was.

.

The dining room was filled with polite chatter, the kind of chatter that only could be heard around people who didn't want to spend time together but felt obligated to because they were family. No one wanted to be there, and the only reason they were was to gossip about each other behind their backs. It was sickening.

Elizaveta hated the family gathering on Christmas day. Then again, she had never been a huge fan of her family. They were superficial and had no qualms about throwing dirt on each other, even when their own wardrobes were overflowing with skeletons. Figuratively speaking. Mostly.

"So have you got yourself a man yet?" said her great aunt suddenly, startling her. The old lady was staring at her from across the table, her scrutinising gaze burning. For some reason, whenever the subject of Elizaveta's love life came up, everyone's attention was caught.

"Uhm, no", Elizaveta said. At least a small part of her must be related to the rest of them in some way, she thought, because she had no problems lying to their faces.

"Every respectable lady needs a man with a firm hand", said her twelve year old cousin at her left, squinting at her and crossing his arms over his chest. Elizaveta pulled a face.

"You could certainly need that", said her father. "And not the kind of men like that scruffy teacher you hang around sometimes. A real man. With a real job. And ambitions. Someone who can provide for you."

Elizaveta sighed and steeled herself for the annual speech about the importance of keeping her virtue and status intact, how she ought to associate herself with the right kinds of people. This was why she hated the Christmas day.

"Father, I-", she started, not intending on letting him continue his rant, not this time, but something caught her gaze.

Something was moving outside the window. In the snow. A figure, moving sneakily towards the house. Jumping from shadow to shadow, stopping for a second in the light from the house, like it didn't want anyone to see, yet it wanted to be discovered. This strange behaviour somehow caught her interest and somehow, it seemed familiar to her.

"Are you even listening to me, young lady?"

The face of the figure came into the light for a second.

She almost gasped loudly when it dawned upon her. Oh god. Oh dear god what was he- He was insane!

Quickly she stood up, instantly getting the attention of the eyes greedy for gossip.

"Please excuse me", she said and hurried out of the dining room. She felt giddy, excited, like a little girl running to the Christmas tree to open her presents when she knew something good was waiting inside them.

She couldn't believe it! That man was insane, no doubt! Had he really? All the way here? God, he really was an idiot.

.

After making sure no one had followed her, she locked the door to her room and rushed to the window to open it. Cold air gushed in, making her shiver, but she cared little for it. She squinted outside, trying to find him in the dark.

A bouquet of flowers popped up in her face and with a yelp she fell backwards.

"A flower delivery for the gorgeous lady", said the oh so familiar voice and she couldn't help but to laugh and swat his head as he climbed in through the window. She extended her hand to him, helping him over the window sill.

"Heavens, Gilbert! You're a total idiot!"

"That might be true, but I'm a handsome idiot, am I not?" He said and brushed the snow from his clothes. "Christ, it's cold outside." He stopped in his tracks, eyes landing on her, in her fancy dress and messy hair and flustered cheeks.

"I hope you didn't come all the way out here to just stare at me."

Gilbert laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, I've got something better in store for you."

"Better than these half dead flowers?"

"Oh yeah, a lot better", he said and scooped her up in his arms, pressing his cold lips against her warm ones. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he entangled his fingers in his hair as they kissed, neither caring about the cold air seeping into the room or the drops of water from his hair as the snow melted.

Soon they pulled back, only a little, only enough to catch their breaths. Gilbert tenderly swept away a strand of hair from her face, a cheeky smile on his face.

"I have to admit, that was better", Elizaveta said and pecked his lips.

"And I haven't even gotten to the good part yet", he said with a laugh. "Pack your bags, we're going to Paris."

"We're doing what?"

"Y'know, our annual vacation? Francis and Toni are waiting with the car a bit up the road, and the others will meet us at the airport in..." he checked his wristwatch, "exactly six hours."

"You're serious. You're actually serious. Oh god, you're all nuts", Elizaveta said and slapped a hand over her mouth, laughing. "You're just gonna kidnap me and bring me to France, is that is?"

"That would be correct, my lady", Gilbert said in a feigned posh tone, straightening up and bowing his head for her. "Now, if you don't mind, we're on a tight schedule and we wouldn't want to miss our flight, would we?"

She swat his head and rolled her eyes, fondly muttering "dork" before tugging out a bag from under the bed and starting to pack down her clothes.

"I have to sneak out and grab my winter coat", she said and headed for the door. There, she turned and looked at Gilbert, who stood leaning against her desk, watching her intently with a wry grin on his lips. "What?"

"Nothing. Just remembered how much I love seeing you so caught up and focused on a task."

"You just like seeing me work while you do nothing."

"Can't deny that. Now hurry up, that coat might be going nowhere, but I think Tony and Francis are getting impatient out there. I convinced them to turn the car off, didn't wanna attract attention, but that means they have no heating either."

"I'm sure they suffer _so much_", Elizaveta said and snorted, leaving the room.

The dining room was still filled with loud voices and the clinking of utensils against the ceramic plates, but she paid no attention to them as she sneaked past the closed doors.

.

A good ten minutes later the bag was packed and Elizaveta hauled it down the window sill while Gilbert stood beneath the window to catch it. He did so with an "oof", almost stumbling backwards a few steps. He seemed to recover quickly, however, as he soon reached up his arms to help Elizaveta down.

Not that she needed help to jump down from her window, she had done it countless of times, but the gesture was sweet so she didn't complain.

"C'mon, this way", Gilbert said and gave her a peck on the forehead.

"I know the way, Gil", she said with a snort and grabbed her bag. He just looked at her with an unreadable expression, not moving or saying anything. Then,

"We're going to Paris!" He chimed, his whole face cracking up in a wide grin and she couldn't help but to laugh.

As they walked, Gilbert occasionally made a pirouette in the snow, or leaned down to grab a handful of snow and throw it at her, after which she would return the favour by kicking snow at him. He had a goofy smile on his face, and she was certain it was mirrored by her own. It didn't take long before they saw the car, parked by the side of the road.

This Christmas was going to be the best one ever, she was sure of it.


End file.
